Build a Source Brief Before Asking AI to Write

A hypothetical team has a report excerpt: “The trial included 12 editors. Eight completed the task.” The proposed article says most writers prefer the new tool. A link to the report would make that sentence look sourced, but the passage reports completion, not preference.

A source brief makes the mismatch visible before writing begins. It connects each proposed claim to a passage and records what the passage does not establish.

Build the brief around a reader’s question

Start with what the reader needs to decide or understand. If the question is whether editors can complete a particular task, the excerpt is relevant. If the question is which tool writers prefer, different evidence is needed.

For a small article, a compact table is enough:

| Proposed claim | Available support | Limit | | -------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | | Eight editors completed the task | Source A: eight of twelve trial participants | Applies to the described trial | | Most writers prefer the tool | No preference result in the excerpt | Needs different evidence |

The source name should identify the actual document, its date and a stable link when available. A quote or passage location lets the reviewer inspect the connection without searching an entire report.

Carry one real source through to a sentence

Suppose the reader asks whether Google AI search features need special markup. The official Google guidance states that additional markup is unnecessary and that eligibility does not ensure inclusion.

Record the source, the relevant section and the proposed claim in the brief. A bounded draft sentence is: “Google does not require special markup for its AI search features; qualifying pages are still not guaranteed inclusion.” A promise that a particular markup change will earn citations goes beyond this source.

That comparison checks support for the sentence. It does not establish traffic gains or evaluate every AI search provider. Before using the sentence, reopen the documentation and check that the guidance still applies.

Supply the material the tool can access

A URL tells an AI where a source might be. Whether it can inspect the source depends on the tools available in that conversation. Without browsing or a supplied document, it should ask for an excerpt rather than claim to have read the page.

The Write with Sources instructions include that boundary. Paste the relevant passages into the source field when needed. Preserve the source’s population, time period, qualifications and definitions alongside the result; separating them can make an accurate number support an inaccurate sentence.

Keep gaps visible during drafting

A draft often needs interpretation as well as observation. Mark interpretation as the writer’s reasoning and explain how it follows. An unsupported claim can be removed, narrowed or turned into a question for further research.

The brief itself does not verify the source’s quality or settle conflicting reports. A reviewer still needs to decide which material is appropriate for the claim. The facts, interpretation and opinion guide helps keep those different jobs visible in the finished article.

Once the brief has a supported argument, use Write Like an Expert to develop it. For rough notes, Turn Notes into an Article provides a separate path that preserves unresolved questions rather than silently filling them in.